SUNYANI TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY

Senior Members and Senior Staff of the Sunyani Technical University (STU) have been taken through a 2-day workshop on Research and Grantsmanship to broaden their horizon on how to develop research proposals that could attract grants for their implementation.

The programme was facilitated by Dr. Violet Makuku, Quality Assurance Specialist, Workshops Co-ordinator & Project Manager of the Harmonization of African Higher Education Quality Assurance and Accreditation (HAQAA) Initiative, Association of African Universities (AAU).

She challenged the participants to attach maximum seriousness to research to help address some of the bottlenecks militating against the growth of their institutions and the society at large.

Dr. Makuku said anyone preparing to undertake a research should first identify a problem before arriving at a topic for the exercise.

Earlier in his opening remarks, the Vice-Chancellor of the University, Prof. Ing. Kwadwo Adinkrah-Appiah underscored the importance of research in an institution such as STU.

He expressed the hope that the programme would go a long way to encourage the participants to come out with various research works that enhance their capacity and further sell the University.

“Remember that when you come out with a research work, the credit does not only come to you but your institution as well, and this contributes to the university rankings.

As part of the training programme, which was mainly interactive, participants were grouped and tasked to identify a problem, write a statement of the problem, the aim, objectives that are likely to be achieved in a given period and set research questions/hypothesis.

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Office of Public Relations Unit
12 Nov, 2021

The Sunyani Technical University’s Entrepreneurship Hub and Business Ideas Incubation Centre has officially been launched as part of measures to motivate students to become successful job creators and entrepreneurs.

It is, among others, expected to empower students of the University through skills development, training, and awareness creation as well as shape business ideas.

The centre is being managed by the Business/Entrepreneurship Development and External Funding Unit (BEDEFU) of the University and operates in collaboration with the National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Programme and the Ghana Enterprises Agency (GEA), formerly the National Board for Small Scale Industries (NBSSI).

Speaking at the launch, the Director of Business Support Franklin Owusu Karikari, the Director of Business Support at the National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Programme (NEIP) commended STU for setting up the centre to help nurture and train young people to come out with innovative and business ideas.

He announced plans by the NEIP to outdoor a programme meant to convert Project Works by final-year university students into actionable and profitable business ventures. Under the programme, he explained, each university would be required to select and submit its top ten best project works to NEIP.

According to him, authors of the selected Project Works would then be contacted and taken through training on their chosen projects after which they would be given start-up capital to bring their dreams into fruition.

This would go a long way to ensure that the practice where Project Works usually submitted by final-year students of tertiary institutions prior to graduation and usually end up on shelves would become a thing of the past.

The Pro Vice-Chancellor of STU, Prof. Justice Solomon Korantwi-Barimah, added his voice to call on the youth to think outside the box and come out with problem-solving ideas which make meaningful impacts on the country and the world at large.

He pledged management’s commitment to efforts aimed at empowering students to be creative and to attain greater height in their academic and career pursuits.

In a message, the Dean of the Faculty of Applied Science and Technology, Prof. Jones Lewis Arthur noted that the Business Ideas Incubation Centre seeks to become a catalyst in facilitating the emergence of competent first-generation entrepreneurs and transition of existing SMEs into growth-oriented enterprises through entrepreneurship education, training, research and institution building.

“Students connected to the Centre would be counseled to take up innovative projects in their career, for which the students will be supported with technical expert counseling to execute the project, access funds required to execute the project, and continuous monitoring to complete the business model”, he explained.

Earlier in his welcoming remarks, the Head of BEDEFU, Mr. Kwabena Adjei, underscored the critical role of the centre in shaping students to become job creators and not job seekers.

Source: Public Relations Office, STU END

The Sunyani Technical University (STU) says it is ready to partner with the Sunyani Youth Development Association (SYDA) in areas such as skills training and entrepreneurial development to ensure a better future for the youth.

The Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Ing. Kwadwo Adinkrah-Appiah said this in a speech read for him at this year’s celebration of the International Youth Day in Sunyani. The theme for the occasion was “Transforming Food Systems: Youth innovation for Human Planetary Health.”

The Vice-Chancellor, whose speech was delivered for him by the Public Relations Officer of the University, Dickson Kyere-Duah, further said through youth education, engagement, innovation, and entrepreneurial solutions, the Department of Agriculture of the University was ready to provide technical assistance to the Association or individuals who intend to venture into agriculture.

Prof. Ing. Adinkrah-Appiah commended the association for its intervention in the Integrated Sewing Project and encouraged members of the association to take advantage of the Planting for Food and Jobs programme by the government to venture into large-scale farming.

He noted that considering the ever-increasing population of the world, there was an urgent need to ensure a corresponding increase in food production in a sustainable and environmentally friendly manner.

Mr. Atta Akoto Senior, the President of the Sunyani Youth Development Association, disclosed that the association had set up a Youth Empowerment Training Centre to provide opportunities to the youth to acquire employable skills and earn a decent living.

“Through the support of the Australian High Commission, we have been able to fully activate our Integrated Sewing Project. We have the machines and infrastructure to implement the project. Forty people have been enrolled”, he also said.

“In working towards the attainment of our project, we are working towards bag production as well. We pray all gathered here to patronize our services and products in the areas of beautiful clothing designs, fugu fabrics, solar products and services, bead designs and craft, hairdressing, wig caps, welding services as a means of providing a livelihood for our master craftsmen volunteers who have dedicated themselves to train the youths”, Mr. Akoto Senior added.

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Management of the Sunyani Technical University (STU) has handed-over a new mosque to the Muslim community in the institution.

The new mosque, which replaces an old and smaller one, would serve as a more convenient place of worship for both students and staff of Islamic faith.

The Pro Vice-Chancellor of STU, Professor Justice Solomon Korantwi-Barimah, who, on behalf of management handed-over the facility, called on the leadership of the muslim community on campus to notify and involve management in their programmes and activities.

“On behalf of the management of the University, I dedicate this facility to the muslim community for the worship of Allah…. we believe that we are spiritual beings; meaning without Allah, there is nothing we can do”, he also said.

He also called on the leadership of the Muslim community to maintain the facility and keep the place tidy.

On his part, the Deputy Registrar in-charge Human Resource, Mr. Stephen Yeboah, touched on the need for all staff and students to continue adhering to all Covid-19 safety protocols as announced by the government.

“You know that Sunyani Technical University has done so well when it comes to the prevention of this deadly disease. It is the hope of management that all of us will continue to observe the protocols. We pray that Allah will keep us all safe such that even in the midst of the outbreak, we’ll be able to withstand this deadly disease so let’s heed to the advice of the President.”

Musa Mohammed, Chief Imam and President of the STU chapter of the Ghana Muslim Students Association, on behalf of the Muslim community at STU thanked management for their kind gesture.

Quoting sections of the Holy Qur’an, the Chief Imam stated that “anybody, any faithful believer who builds a place of worship of this nature in his worldly life will also have a place built by God on the day of judgement for him.”

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